Hundreds of people die at the farewell to the Rotterdam family

In Spijkenisse hundreds of people greeted the three victims of a fatal road accident in Rotterdam. In last week’s accident, a 35-year-old man from Helmond, a 36-year-old woman from Spijkenisse and their 7-year-old daughter were killed.

Outside the Spijkenisse funeral home this afternoon there was a sea of ​​flowers. A reporter from the regional broadcaster Rijnmond he estimates that around 600 people attended the farewell.

The attendance was so high that not everyone could enter the auditorium. Although people could watch the farewell on screens in the other rooms, people still had to be outside. Additionally, a few hundred people watched at home via a direct video connection.

Not all relatives were allowed to come to Spijkenisse; many of them live in Curaçao.

Music was played during the farewell, including Bob Marley and upbeat hip-hop music. Many of them in Papiamento, a language widely spoken in Curaçao.

Some of those present gave a speech, including the director of the school where the girl was a student. “There is no place in group four,” she said. “Always a baby short. We will miss your bright smile.”

Accompanied by a brass band, the three coffins were placed on a mobile coffin at the end of the funeral service. The family was led through an honor guard to the cemetery, where they are buried.

Watch the farewell video here:

The accident occurred early on Boxing Day morning at a crossroads south of Rotterdam. Two cars collided head-on. The family was in one of the vehicles, they died instantly.

The driver of the other car, a 28-year-old man from The Hague, was seriously injured. He was detained in the hospital. The prosecutor later reported that the investigations showed that he he had drunk too much. He probably also drove at high speed and ran a red light.